Taxi & private hire drivers gridlock streets around Bolton Town Hall in protest against CAZ charges
Updated: Jan 11, 2022
Taxi & private hire drivers in Bolton have staged a protest outside Bolton Town Hall against controversial Clean Air Zone charges (CAZ).
The plans, which are set to come into force on 30 May 2022, would see commercial and passenger vehicles deemed most polluting, charged a fee to operate within the CAZ.
Cabbies whose vehicles do not meet emissions standards will face charges of £7.50 per-day to travel in the zone.
The protest was jointly organised by Bolton Taxi Union and Bolton Private Hire Association.
The CAZ will cover all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
In addition to taxi and private hire car charges, heavy goods vehicles, coaches and buses will be charged £60 daily, with vans and minibuses being charged £10.
On the council’s website it states that ‘Private cars, motorbikes and mopeds won’t be affected. But some vehicles that do not meet emissions standards (non-compliant vehicles) will be charged to drive in the Clean Air Zone’.
